Facebook Hates Christmas

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Why send a Christmas card when you can update hundreds of friends everyday on Facebook?

For some, sending out Christmas cards in the mail is now considered almost obsolete. "I thought it was archaic. I mean, I'm 53, and I thought it was something really old people did," Kathleen Snider, of Alameda, told the Oakland Tribune. She plans on only sending a few cards to relatives who "still like to get mail."

Most of the blame gets placed on Facebook and other electronic media, where people can update loved ones and friends immediately rather than waiting a few days for a paper missive. Even the U.S. Postal Service blames the rise of e-mail as a reason for its falling revenues. (However, the real reason is likely a $5.5 billion a year bill for pre-paying for retiree healthcare.) So perhaps it's not a surprise that people, who could easily send out a mass Facebook message, tag you, or simply update their status to say, "Merry Xmas!" may forgo the postage and hassle of buying and sending Christmas cards.

But despite changing mores, a lot of people still want Christmas cards that signify thought and effort rather than a click of a mouse -- and 63 percent still want that card, according to Vistaprint and Zoomerang Online Surveys and Polls.

Hallmark spokeswoman Jaci Twidwell said the company isn't worried about the rise of digital media, even stating that many "Facebook friends," those whom you may know only slightly or are just FarmVille pals, may not be the people close enough to send cards to anyway.

The Postal Service also expects a big glut of letters and packages this holiday season, Augustine Ruiz Jr., spokesman for the Bay-Valley District of the USPS in San Jose told the Tribune. "Most have discovered that email and text greetings don't look decorative on the Christmas tree or mantle," Ruiz said.